HIGHLIGHTS: Valour FC vs. Forge FC (October 6, 2024) | Presented by tonybet

Forge FC have clinched the 2024 CPL Shield as the Canadian Premier League's regular season champions, as they defeated Valour 1-0 at Princess Auto Stadium on Sunday.

Because of that, they'll be able to lift some silverware above their heads next weekend at home, and will participate in the Concacaf Champions Cup for a third time in the past four seasons, which are both huge accomplishments for them as a club.

As for Valour, they missed a glorious chance to climb outright into the fifth and final playoff spot in the CPL table, which they could've done with a win, and even missed a chance to climb into a three-way tie for that spot as they could've done with a draw.

To start this game, Béni Badibanga had a good look at goal inside five minutes on a dangerous free kick at the edge of the box as he stepped up to take the kick that he won just moments earlier, but his knuckling shot dipped comfortably into the hands of Valour's Jonathan Viscosi in goal.

Then, Badibanga had an even better look at goal in the 34th minute, as he worked into the box and fired a dangerous tight-angle shot towards goal, once again finding himself denied by Viscosi, before Daniel Parra had his rebound blocked by a Valour player on the subsequent action.

Finally, however, Forge found their breakthrough in the 36th minute. After a nice run towards the byline by Kyle Bekker, he found Noah Jensen with a dangerous cutback into the box, and Jensen made no mistake with his chance, slotting home to give his team a 1-0 lead.

Eager to respond, Valour nearly found a response in the 41st minute, as Abdul Binate found the space to fire a shot, and he got a lot behind his attempt, forcing a strong save out of Forge's Jassem Koleilat.

Continuing a frenetic end to the first half, Bekker tried to add to his assist in the 43rd minute, curling a dangerous shot from the edge of the box, but Viscosi managed to palm away his attempt with a nice diving save.

Valour had their best chance of the game on the last kick of the first half, as the ball fell to Tass Mourdoukoutas at the edge of the six yard box after a short corner routine, but he was unable to keep his shot below the crossbar, keeping the game at 1-0 in Forge's favour.

After the break, things started the way they ended, as Forge nearly doubled their lead on a corner, with the bal falling to Jensen in a dangerous area, but he sent his header well over the mark from close range.

Then, at the other end, Valour had a great look at goal in the 50th minute, as Juan Pablo Sánchez tried to curl a dangerous shot from the edge of the box, just sending his attempt past the post.

Valour had another glorious chance in the 65th minute, as Loïc Kwemi managed to cut inside on his left foot and fire a dangerous shot, but his powerful attempt was palmed away by the strong hands of Koleilat. Nearly 10 minutes later, Kwemi had a similarly dangerous look on his preferred right foot in the 77th minute, and he came close to scoring once again, forcing another strong save from Koleilat.

Not done pushing for a late equalizer, Safwane Mlah had a nice attempt in the 87th minute, as the Valour substitute connect nicely with a volley, but the ball was unable to dip in time to find the back of the net.

From there, however, despite a late push from Valour, they came up empty-handed in that hunt for a dramatic equalizer, allowing Forge to celebrate their CPL Shield victory at Princess Auto Stadium.

BOX SCORE

Lineups 

Valour FC: Viscosi; Alárcon (Mlah 87'), Mourdoukoutas, Facchineri, Antonoglou; Sánchez (Ohin 57'), Campbell; Kwemi, Ressureição (Faria 70'), Binate (Swibel 57'); Hundal

Forge FC: Koleilat; Duncan, Achinioti-Jönsson, Metusala, Parra; Hojabrpour, Bekker (Samuel 90'); Badibanga, Jensen (Schiavoni 90'), Choinière (Klonaridis 72'); Koné (Ampomah 72')

Goals

36′ — Noah Jensen (Forge FC)

Discipline

86′ —Yellow: Alessandro Hojabrpour (Forge FC)

90+1′ —Yellow: Béni Badibanga (Forge FC)